Christmas Shoes
by Stills and Photographs
Summary: Riven meets a little boy who wants to buy a pair of shoes as a Christmas present for his dying mother. Song-fiction.


**Summary:** Riven meets a little boy who wants to buy a pair of shoes as a Christmas present for his dying mother. Song-fiction.

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Winx Club or "The Christmas Shoes" by Bob Carlisle.

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**Christmas Shoes**

The magenta haired specialist sighed as the opening notes to a song he had already heard seven times that day floated over Magix Mart's speakers. "White Christmas" got real old, real quick after the first time you hear it.

_It was almost Christmas time_

Riven turned his attention to the boxes of candy and chocolate bars on the right side of the checkout lane. He saw red and green wrappers, wreaths and holly and garland strangling his favorite junk food.

_There I stood in another line_

He held a basket weighed down with assorted odds-and-ends: plastic candy-canes filled with red and green candy-coated chocolate pieces, a box of chocolate Kris Kringles, two tubes of lip-gloss and a Matchbox car. They were stocking stuffers for his niece and nephew.

_Trying to buy that last gift or two_

It wasn't that he didn't like Christmas. It was his favorite time of year, in fact. But outside it was snowing, and he didn't want to be out when the roads were so slick. Not to mention that just hours before Santa was due to arrive, the amount of people doing last-minute shopping was staggering, and Riven was not one to deal with crowded aisles and harried, frantic parents searching for the last gift on their children's wish lists.

_Not really in the Christmas mood_

"Santa Baby" hit the airwaves when "White Christmas" was through. If there was one song he could _not_ stand, it was "Santa Baby." He sighed again, and watched an overweight housewife and her overweight husband pay for a bright orange tricycle. Riven hoped the recipient of the tricycle would grow up in better shape than his parents.

_That's horrible, _Riven chastised himself. _You're judging these people and you don't even know them._

_Standing right in front of me_

The cashier took an excruciatingly long time ringing up the tricycle. Apparently, the couple had decided to buy the only item in the store with out the large, obnoxious tag necessary to pay for it at checkout.

Riven wasn't the only one feeling a little impatient, though. In front of him was a short boy who could not have been more than eight years old, with a pale, round, freckled face and spiky turquoise hair tipped with navy.

_Was a little boy waiting anxiously_

The boy shifted his weight from foot to foot, swaying from side to side. One minute he looked intently but indifferently at the chocolate and candy, another he examined the pictures on the covers of the magazines on the racks. Occasionally he would gently pat his pants pocket, as if to reassure himself that a precious boon was safe there.

_Pacing around like little boys do_

Every so often, his gaze would drop to the box in his hands, and he would slide back the cover to reveal a magnificent pair of red patent-leather heels. Riven saw them and was reminded of the Earth movie Bloom had made him watch back in high school all those years ago, the one about the girl with the yellow brick road. The boy had Dorothy's shoes in his box, minus the sparkles.

_And in his hands he held a pair of shoes_

Riven watched as the boy approached the register. He wasn't in very good shape. The knees of his jeans were worn through, and his jacket was faded and thin.

_And his clothes were worn and old_

The specialist notices a large wet spot extending from the boy's knee all the way up to his chest. The boy was out of breath, and Riven could only guess that he had run all the way to the store and took a tumble into the snow on the way there.

_He was dirty from head to toe_

The cashier passed the shoebox over the scanner and the boy's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. The man behind the counter smiled kindly and asked how his day was.

_And when it came this time to pay  
__I couldn't believe what I heard him say_

The boy answered quietly. "_Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my mama, please_. _It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size_."

His voice dropped lower. "_Could you hurry, sir? Daddy says there's not much time. You see, she's been sick for quite a while, and I know these shoes will make her smile, and I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight._"

Riven blanched, and the clerk looked slightly taken aback as well. He told the boy the total in a quiet voice, and small hands spilled his pocketful of change over the conveyor belt.

_He counted pennies for what seemed like years_

The man halfhearted totaled the coins, but he finally shook his head sadly. His eyes flicked to Riven, who was watching the scene unfold before him.

_And cashier says, "There's not enough here."_

The boy patted all of his pockets again, even sweeping a finger along the inside of his sneaker. He came up empty.

_He searched his pockets frantically_

He spun in desperation and looked at Riven. "Please, can you help me?"

_And he turned and he looked at me_

His eyes were begging and wet with tears he couldn't help.

_And he turned and he looked at me  
__He said "Mama made Christmas good at our house  
__Though most years she just did without.  
__Tell me, Sir, what am I gonna do?  
__Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes."_

The boy's words pulled at Riven's heartstrings; he was so helpless and vulnerable, and it wasn't as if he couldn't help. He handed the cashier his Magix card. "I'll take care of it," he told him.

_So I laid the money down  
__I just had to help him out_

The boy wrapped his arms around the magenta-haired man's waist. "Really?" he asked.

_And I'll never forget the look on his face_

Riven nodded. He'd never admit that his vision was swimming.

The child's answering smile was radiant.

_When he said, "Mama's gonna look so great."_

The blue-haired boy took the bag containing the shoes and thanked Riven one more time. Riven took a deep breath and told him that it really wasn't a problem, and the boy nearly tripped over himself running out of the store.

_I knew I caught a glimpse of heaven's love as he thanked me and ran out_

Abandoning his basket of items and the clerk who wasn't attempting to hide the tear that slid down his cheek at the exchange, Riven followed the boy out the door. "Hey...hey!"

The boy trudged back to him. "Mister, I need to get back, my mom needs her shoes—"

Riven cut him off. "I know. Would you get there faster if I gave you a ride?"

The boy nodded, rubbing his arms. Falling snowflakes clung to his eyelashes and lodged in his hair.

"Come on."

_I know that God had sent that little boy to remind me what Christmas is all about_

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The boy lived a few miles away from the Magix Mart, and Riven couldn't have been more glad that he had given the boy a ride. The wind and snow had picked up, and he cranked his hovercar's heat against the cold. The boy fell asleep against the passenger-side door, the shoes cradled in his arms like a teddy-bear.

_Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my mama, please_

Riven opened the door and lifted the boy out, careful not to wake him. He carried him to the door, where a man who looked like a grown-up version of the kid in his arms answered the knock.

"Zach!" the man said, worry and shock etched in his features.

Zach stirred. "Daddy!" he said. "Look what I got Mommy!" He held the shoes out proudly. "She's going to look so pretty.

The man took Zach from Riven's arms. "Don't you ever run off like that again. Your mother and I were scared sick." He turned to Riven. "Thank you so much for bringing him back, I don't know what we would have done...Christmas Eve of all times, I thought I'd lose him too..." He trailed off and seemed unaware he had said so much.

_It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size_

"Jared?" called a weak female voice from the doorway into the family's small living room. "What's that noise? Is Zachary back?"

"Yes, baby, this man brought him back." Jared helped the woman, a pale figure with disheveled navy-blue hair, to sit on the sofa. "Musa, you shouldn't have gotten out of bed."

_Can you hurry, Sir?_

"Musa?" Riven repeated softly, the words taking a long time to sink in.

Zach climbed into his mother's lap. "Look what I got you, Mommy. I got you these for Christmas, and this man helped me." Musa grimaced as the little boy crawled off of the couch and pulled Riven closer to the woman. "I didn't have enough and he helped. Open it, Mommy."

_Daddy said there's not much time_

The woman before him was slim, to the point of looking sickly. Her face was heavily lined, and looked as though under the facade of her happiness at seeing her son after he scared her by running away, there was a permanent look of pain in her features. Looking closer, there were already streaks of gray in her deep blue hair. But her eyes were still as sharp as he remembered.

_You see, she's been sick for quite a while_

"Musa?"

"Riven?"

The pair embraced, Riven careful not to hurt her. "I haven't seen you in years!" they said in unison. Riven was shocked at how weak her voice was compared to when he had last seen her, more than eight years before.

Zach was bored with the reunion. "Mom, open them! Open them and put them on!" he insisted.

Riven nodded, and Musa's shaking hands pulled the cover off the shoebox, revealing the Christmas shoes.

"Oh, Zach, they're beautiful." She kissed him. "Thank you so much, baby."

_And I know these shoes will make her smile_

Musa's already-pale complexion had lightened a few shades, and her breathing was labored. "Say goodnight, Zach," Jared said, looking worriedly at his wife. "Santa won't come unless you're asleep."

Zach kissed his mother and scampered out of sight. Jared followed after him. "I'll be right back, Musa."

Musa's still-trembling hands slid the shoes onto her bare feet. She needed a bit of help from Riven, who knelt awkwardly when she was done. "This is such a surprise," Musa whispered. "I didn't expect to see you again."

_And I want her to look beautiful_

"Christmas miracle," Riven said weakly, his attempt at humor falling flat. "What happened, Musa? Why are you so sick?" He was legitimately scared at how hoarse her voice was, how she couldn't keep her eyelids open or hold her head up straight without the help of her shaking hand.

_If Mama meets Jesus tonight_

"Cancer," she replied. "In my lungs. From all of the strain I put on my system with the singing." She coughed weakly. "I don't have much time. I was waiting for Zach to get back. I didn't want him to come home to find his mother gone."

"Why aren't you at a hospital, Muse?" Riven asked, anger seeping into his voice. "Why are you just waiting for it?"

"I've lived a full life, Riven, and I've lived with this for almost three years. I fell in love, and then I got married and had a child, who is the most perfect little boy I've ever seen."

_I want her to look beautiful_

She intertwined her fingers with his, and kissed his lips tenderly. "And now that you're back," she said softly. "I can die happy."

"Musa, I love you," Riven said, just as softly.

She nodded. "I love you, too. I always loved you."

Her hand slipped out of his, and a tear slipped down Riven's cheek.

_If Mama meets Jesus tonight_

**The End.**


End file.
